Entertainment

Mashable Poll: Majority Says No to Under-13 Facebook Users

Facebook is testing technology to bring pre-teens to the social network. We asked Mashable readers what they thought — 5,145+ readers responded through an open poll and with comments. The majority are against a kid-friendly Facebook.

About 83% of survey respondents told us they actively keep their underage kids away from Facebook. Around 78% said they would not "support an under-13 category on Facebook."

Facebook currently bans underage users. The policy states, "Facebook requires individuals to be at least 13 years old before they can create an account." A new option would allow parents to create linked profiles for their children. Parents could change Facebook Timeline options as they see fit.

The proposed policy has opened up a discussion about the safety of children on social networks. Many worry about online bullying and abuse.

"It’s hard for me to support this because of all the T.V. programs and movies made about the various faces of the cyber bully," Megan Matos said. "This can only work if the parents monitor what is happening on their child’s Facebook profile."

Mashable reader raynetoday said letting her young daughter on Facebook for the first time was an eye-opening experience. She fell victim to bullying despite six years of being "coached" about Internet safety.

"My 13-year-old daughter was harassed and bullied the very first day she opened an account on FB –-surprisingly, the bully was someone we considered a safe, close, real-life friend of hers," raynetoday said. "We had to take some unusual measures after lengthy discussions about online bullying, in order to allow our young teen to keep an account on FB but deter any further bullying."

Commenters believe the under-13 group is "a little too young" to be on Facebook. Some adults believe preteens lack the maturity and knowledge of online security to stay safe.

"I agree there are other skills that need to be developed — you know, like computer literacy," Brendan Charles wrote. "That’s not to say children don’t know how to use computers, quite the opposite, but knowing how to use a computer and understanding risks present on the internet, how to protect yourself online and digital citizenship are another story.

Others argue that Facebook should formally welcome children on the site because of the number of pre-teens already there. About 38% of children on Facebook are under 12. A Consumer Reports survey shows five million of the 20 million minors on Facebook are under 10.

Denise Terry, a parent of twins, believes that Facebook will need to introduce a way to authenticate parent accounts before enabling child accounts.

"I’d advocate for a safe ‘Facebook for Kids’ option that was tied to having an authenticated parent account tied to the child account, to enable parental alerts and close monitoring by a trusted and verified adult," Terry says. "Maybe require a birth certificate or SSN# validation by the parent. That way, kids can’t create ‘rogue’ or fake accounts without their parents approval."

Parents are firstly responsible for the online safety of their children, commenters say. But, Facebook should consider a few safeguards.

Users suggest Facebook for kids should be a pared-down version of the network. One option is placing limitations on a child's ability to accept and send friend requests — maybe to only classmates and immediate family. Parents also recommend Facebook disable public searches on all under-13 profiles — to prevent interaction with strangers. Regular parental monitoring of all online activity should happen, commenters suggest.

The world's largest social network with 901 million users would only get bigger by opening their doors to children under 13. About 82% of survey participants believe the "possible Facebook expansion is a revenue ploy." What do you think Facebook has to gain or lose? Tell us in the comments if you think children can benefit from being connected on Facebook. The poll is still open here.

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